Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood’s performance on the TV debate with the other big political leaders could have won her a small increase in support.

The first opinion poll in Wales after the televised event last week shows improvement in Plaid’s standing, but it is still in fourth place in the country.

Labour remains out in front with a 40% lead in the run up to the General Election.

Ahead of Plaid leader Leanne Wood appearing in the five-way leaders’ debate tonight, the YouGov Welsh Political Barometer poll for ITV Wales and the Welsh Governance Centre shows the party polling at 12%.

This is a 3% increase on the last YouGov poll at the end of March, with Plaid claiming it shows more people are “warming” to their party leader.

Plaid have said they are seeing support increase in Ynys Mon, Llanelli and Ceredigion as well as the seats they already hold.

But Labour remain in first place with an unchanged 40% support, while support for the Tories has gone down by one percentage point to 27%.

There was no change in the number of people who said they would vote Ukip at 13%, while Lib Dem support remained consistent at 6%.

The Greens got the lowest rating with just 4% of people saying they would vote for the party, down 1% on the last poll.

In a blog post, elections expert Professor Roger Scully said the new poll adds to the evidence that the decline in support experienced by the Labour party during 2013 and 2014 has stopped, and that Conservative support in Wales remains robust.

He wrote that the “one party clearly moving forward in this poll is Plaid Cymru”.

He said while the last poll “may have given the party an unusually low rating, at 12% the current poll equals Plaid’s highest rating in a YouGov poll since the 210 general election

“This improvement in Plaid’s position may reflect Leanne Wood’s presence in the first televised Leaders’ Debate; if so, it is possible that her presence in this week’s second debate may also help her party.”

Plaid Cymru Election coordinator, Dafydd Wigley, said: “This poll shows that support for Plaid Cymru is on the rise.